A microcosm of China past and present flows through Xu Tong’s intimate docu “Shattered,” in which the maverick indie filmmaker continues to refine his techniques and concerns shown in his previous “Wheat Harvest” and “Fortune Teller.”
Social & External
The people behind it
唐希信
The year 2003 is a rather turbulent period for Hong Kong – the economy was in recession, the government constantly implemented futile policies, the SARS outbreak, and, on July 1st, 500,000 people went on strike opposing the adoption of Article 23 of the Basic Law. It was against this political atmosphere that YIN Zhao-Jian gave up his social worker job, a 10 year long and steady career, and joined the political circle and participated in the district councilor election, which he had no idea about.
Early in the morning, the priest read in the church at the disabled orphanage. At dawn, the villagers entered the funeral ceremony during the prayer ceremony. In disabled orphanages, there are babies in the youngest children. Two children attending school together did not attend the class normally. More children with reduced mobility can only be dazed and crawl on the ground. But they are also God's people and attend worship services in the church. The autumn mist was hazy, and a new cathedral was being built in the village. Insects, kittens, puppies, orphans, villagers who worship, all life is safe. At night, the tired priest went to sleep after finishing writing. In his dream, he reached a graveyard and remained silent with his dying mother. Seasons are changing, rainy days, winter snow, orphans wear thick winter clothes, making movement more difficult. The cathedral was built, and people celebrated the biggest Christmas day of the year.
As a person who has taken art exams, Guo Jiang chose to enter the industry of "art exam training" after graduating from university. His role is that of both an educator and a businessman, although most of the time he prefers to appear as "Mr. Guo". The stage on which Mr. Guo's skills are put to use is a small county in central Henan, which is also his hometown. This documentary is about Guo Jiang's career and life.In short, hovering between the desire and the so-called ideal, adhere to or let go, he needs to make a choice.
Liu Haiying, who is praised by patients as the "sword of the world", is a doctor of medicine who grew up during the 80 years of agency thinking. He spent the most important stage of his career in Germany in the mid-1990s, and he developed a rigorous career. Careful and professional character. In many years of medical practice, Liu Haiying often paid out of his pocket to help poor families with severe spinal deformity patients. He knew that if these people did not undergo surgery, they would have organ failure or death waiting for them. However, long-term funding is unsustainable for the economy.Day and night heavy work has made this good doctor with superb medical skills a patient who needs to be taken care of. Colleagues advised him to take more care of his family and body, but he couldn't stop the pace of "saving the wounded." He was still staggering, guarding his life that was hard to give up and saved the wounded.
The term "garbage" is relative, but most people's definition of garbage is absolute and rigid, and the definition of a person like "garbage man" is also relative. Compared to the ostrich that disappears when humans avoid garbage and not see psychological. With a lively and lovely tone, the film brings out the special views of how the two protagonists look at trash when they walk between the cities, and then connects the delicate relationship between their love for trash and their families.
In a city that worships money, there is a group of people who still insist on living the philosophy of "people are not living on food alone." Instead of choosing to live in seclusion, they choose to actively enter the world, improve their hearts, and influence others through artistic creation. Their innovation has not only driven the art world in Hong Kong but more importantly, through their enthusiasm for creation, they have made us understand that as long as we have a "heart", no matter how difficult the environment is, we can persist in a "love".
What are we doing after the war?
Beixnuengx means compatriot in the Zhuang language. I was born and raised in the city. Although I am Zhuang (China’s ethnic group), am I Beixnuengx? I want to find my identity. So I started with Zhuang folk songs. I set off from Nanning to Wuming, Baise, and then to Mashan, my hometown that I have never been to. I met people singing songs in WeChat groups; I joined the Zhuang song festival at the entrance of the village, I visited 100-year-olds who still make Zhuang brocade... What are the stories of those singing folk songs? What Beixnuengx culture is revealed in folk songs? Along the way, I slowly uncovered the much advertised Zhuang culture and saw her in the most original form. In the end, how did I answer my initial question?
The story of a girl attempted suicide for love and finally returned to religion.
This story is about the group's marvellous life without money.The film tell this story from six points of view: the screenwriter, the recording, the photography, the art, the performer and the director.
Scars, which are unfortunate or unexpected results, are also signs of healing. This new connective tissue replaces the process of injured tissues, and at the same time it becomes a metaphor for the pain and frustration of life: the sadness of the body, the union of pain... In short, scars have become a proof, a proof of existence, a proof of alive, a proof of pain, and a proof of a certain age. Beginning in 1949, in this vast land, these various scars, these healing marks, patterns, sad shapes, bring personal memories, collective pains, the marks of history, and come together Gaze, the meaning of the record. This film is the first part of the "Scar" project, the story of 110 Chinese scars.
The baby is a temporary floating population. He works diligently, from a small restaurant owner to a tea shop manager to a bar manager. This film records the survival state of children centered and gay comrades: trivial, messy, boring, and entertaining themselves. The camera calmly captures every bit of their daily life for more than two years, and as time goes by, the changes the baby presents are more ordinary. The film calmly explains the relationship between "comrades" and "society", and the various small details interpenetrated in the film also metaphorically reflect the changes of today's society
This film is about the story of the main character and his younger brother, the younger brother saw the comic book of the main character, in his brain, he had a fight of animal chess related to memory. The younger brother belongs to the green party, the elder brother belongs to the orange party, at last the elder brother lost and the younger brother won in his consciousness, the younger brother took the elder brother to see the future elder brother in the heart of the younger brother.
Here is only one chance in life, and the way of education has a profound impact on the future of children; letting children go to school at home is a challenge and an experiment that does not allow failure... This film visits four families who have completely different backgrounds but also choose to teach themselves. Through the sharing of experiences between their children and their parents, it presents the appearance of the phenomenon of self-study in Taiwan today. Is the pursuit of the happy growth of one's own children contradictory to the hope that the children will become a dragon and a phoenix? What kind of learning environment should we prepare for children? How do families with different backgrounds and children with different qualifications choose appropriate education methods? What is best for children?
On August 21, 1942, while the Japanese "Expeditionary Team" immediately retreated with ground troops, they scattered anthrax on fields, grasses, and crops in urban residential areas along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi traffic. People along the route mostly depend on farming for their livelihoods, so at the same time, many people crippled and died with rotten feet. According to incomplete statistics, there are only more than 160 suspected germ warfare survivors in Quzhou, Zhejiang. This film focuses on these surviving elderly people. When 70 years have passed since the war and a new chapter of history opened, what kind of lives are the old people who are victims? What kind of mental state are you in? Will the wounds left over from the war heal? What is the attitude towards war?
Filmed over three years on China’s railways, The Iron Ministry traces the vast interiors of a country on the move: flesh and metal, clangs and squeals, light and dark, and language and gesture. Scores of rail journeys come together into one, capturing the thrills and anxieties of social and technological transformation. The Iron Ministry immerses audiences in fleeting relationships and uneasy encounters between humans and machines on what will soon be the world’s largest railway network.
Workers, peasants, soldiers, students and merchants were five groups of Chinese society in the 1950s, after the so-called elimination of the exploited class. Borrowing this concept, the umbrella is taken as the clue to rediscover changes in various social classes after the economic reform, and to analyze the social problems in China. Workers making umbrellas, merchants selling umbrellas, students looking for jobs in the rain. Umbrella is used as a metaphor that can be seen everywhere. As the raindrop, what we see is sometimes clear, sometimes untraceable.
Video essay ‘Rock and Cliff' investigates the creation of Horn Town, a new model village and centre of large scale tourist development, and the experiences of rural residents moved there through government-led displacement. Horn Town is located in Wulong, a rural district near the Three Gorges Dam administered by the Chongqing municipality (a city of 30 million people). Narrated in the style of a science documentary but using local Chongqing dialect, the video brings a geological and topographical perspective to types of 'rocks' found in the area,from mythological stones from a mountain cliff, to ruins of the original settlement, to a stone sculpture from a dubious 'Land Art Biennial', in order to address issues of land acquisition, top-down development and spatial politic.
"Huangyangchuan, Gansu province, China. It's an arid mountain area with poor roads. Ma Bingcheng is well-respected local doctor, so many patients (most of them farmers) come to see him every day. In his small clinic, people chat with each other about their lives, local conditions, or the people they know. The clinic seems to open up like a microcosm, the information and experiences of different people intertwine, revealing the conditions of typical Chinese farmers, and the typical fates of both young and old--"
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.